Social media tips for introducing a new brand into UK

Last week I had the pleasure of running some social media seminars at a large fashion trade show. One of the questions after the talk was asking for some social media tips on how to launch a new brand into the UK.

@JonTromans Don't wanna be greedy, so I'll just ask one: What kind of strategy would you use to introduce an overseas brand to the UK?

Which leads me to this blog post. Even though a lot of this post refers to the fashion industry, most of the tips will work with other industries and brands that are looking to launch into new markets.

Create UK specific Social Media accounts

If you’re bringing a new product into the UK then setting up UK specific social media accounts is a must.

For fashion brands Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram are essential so create attractive profiles showing off the best images you have and make sure there’s a launch date in a very prominent place.

Get set up a couple of months before launch so everything is ready!

Tease the launch

As mentioned above, launch the profiles giving yourself plenty of time to generate followers who will be interested in the new brand and start teasing.

Create a few cropped images showing off the new designs and styles and start getting your followers excited for the wonderful products that are about to arrive in the UK for the very first time. Build a picture of excitement!

Schedule posts daily to make life a little easier but always be around to respond to any questions that you get. Engagement will be important in generating interest.

Look at the brands existing social media for UK followers

If the brand you are launching already has a good following in other countries then spend some time looking at the these followers and finding people from the UK, then follow them.

Remember that everyone you follow will get some sort of notification and if they recognise the brand the chance is you’ll get a follow.

Send a quick mention or direct message to everyone who follows you thanking them and mentioning your launch date, point them to the website and maybe offer an exclusive discount code.

Give your followers something to look forward to.

Research the competition for followers

Another great way to start generating followers that could be interested in your brand is to look at your competitors and start following their followers.

The people you get engaging with you should already be interested in what you sell and I’m pretty sure they’ll be excited to see something new is arriving. This is a great way to get some targeted followers and build your brand.

Don’t forget to engage with anyone who follows you and mention the launch date plus give them an exclusive code!

Build social media into your marketing campaigns

It goes without saying that social media should be part of all the campaigns you run.

Any print advertising should have social media tags stamped on them and be generating new followers. Make sure your website is up to speed with all the follow buttons in place.

Also look at incorporating social media within any email marketing and don’t forget to cross promote and tell Twitter followers to join you on Pinterest.

Talk to influencers

The power of influencers is really important in social media so start following and slowly engaging with the influencers your customers follow.

They don’t always have to be A/B list celebrities, these influencers could be popular bloggers, fashion editors and YouTubers.

Connect with the people your customers look up to, engage with them and let them know about the imminent launch.

Engage, be friendly & start building your brand attitude

Getting in touch and engaging with your followers is really important when you’re trying to establish your brand but don’t just try to sell. Be friendly and offer some value to your potential new customer, say good morning to your them and share your excitement as the launch date gets closer.

When you’re engaging make sure to develop your brand attitude and write it down so that other social media managers know how the brand is meant to sound. The last thing you want is a disjointed attitude and different personalities coming over.

Conclusion

There are many things you need to work on when creating your social media strategy for launching a new brand in the UK. Spending some time brainstorming and planning things out will make life a lot easier.